Home Sweet Home

We're IN!! Finally in our new home. With Internet and cable. Whew! It is truly a miracle that can call ourselves homeowners. We were scheduled to close on the October16th, but things always delay closings, and it ended up being re-scheduled for the 19th. And then it was delayed again. And again. Until finally we were scheduled to close on October 29th. And what do you know? Hurricane Sandy was forecast to hit MONDAY October 29th. Eek! This posed two problems: 1. Our mortgage company let us know if we did not close on Monday, we would have to wait two weeks until after the storm hit for the inspectors to re-assess the home and see if it sustained any damage. 2. We had to be out of our rental on Oct. 31st, so if we didn't close and move before then, we would be homeless.

So with torrential downpour and crazy wind, we drove to sign the papers and get the keys on Monday with the title company, who was only open due to our real estate agent calling in some serious favors. We were thrilled and a little nervous to become new homeowners in the worst storm in 75 years for NJ. Later Monday night we lost power, and were sunk into darkness until Tuesday evening. Trying to pack is pretty hard by camping lantern, but hey, you do what you gotta do, right?

 On Tuesday, we emerged from our rental without power to what looked like a war zone. Fallen trees, closed roads, downed power lines were everywhere. Every home was dark, and forget about any grocery stores or fast food. We drove to our new home to assess the damage. It took us literally an hour to get there with all the road closures (think 4 miles). Our hearts sank when we saw this as we tried to turn the corner to get to our house...

When we were able to see our house, and that no trees had fallen on it, we shouted, PRAISE GOD!  Besides leaves everywhere, our home sustained no damage. Our poor neighbors had four trees fall in their yard, and there was downed power lines up and down the street. We moved into the house the next day, without electricity. But we didn't care. We were/are still so completely grateful that our little family is safe, and in our home without damage. It was only days later when we were able to read the paper we saw all the other folks throughout the state who were devastated by the storm. Our prayers and hearts go out to them.

Here are pics of our new casa... a work in progress! We were so so so grateful for my Dad and Mom who flew out the day after we moved in to watch the girls and help us get settled. Despite the threat of potentially no power for the duration of their stay, they still opted to come. Thank you!! We couldn't have done it without you!

Here is pic from  earlier in the year, from the MLS.

Backyard, looking at the back of our house. See why we were so worried about the storm? Thankfully, that big bad tree didn't go anywhere.

Stripping wallpaper... welcome to our foyer!

Living room... I fell in love with the built-in bookshelves in the back. 

Dining room.. still unpacking. It is amazing the amount of stuff you accumulate after 8 years of marriage.

A room with a view... what I get to see while I do the dishes, or rather put them in the dishwasher. Score!!

 We have made a ton of progress, and are finishing up painting and hanging curtains and pictures. I will post more pics after we get semi-finished, hopefully after the Thanksgiving weekend. One thing is for sure, home buying isn't for sissys!

Eight Months

Our little princess is nearing 9 months... here's what she has been up to this month:

Enjoying the fall leaves... She LOVED crunching the leaves... and trying to eat them. 

 

 Our little "Big Stuff" has been trying SO hard to crawl...

 Toofers!! Maddie has been working on her second bottom tooth...

 Curious... Now, don't freak out on me here. I promise she was supervised the entire time in her seat. She figured out how to turn on the water all by herself. This was before my counter and her were covered in water. LOL

 Clapping... Baby girl loves to clap and wave "night night" to Sissy at nap time.

My little Peanut Butter! I've been calling her Peanut for awhile now, sometime this month it morphed into "Peanut Butter". Poor child. We go to the new pediatrician in a week, and I will post all her stats. Anywho, here's our update:
 

*Eating... Our sweet girl has been trying new foods this month, purred chicken, blueberries and yogurt. Her favorite way to eat chicken is mixed with sweet potato. She is a pro at feeding herself, and loves puffs, diced pears or peaches, turkey deli meat, and cheese. She is still exclusively breastfed, and we haven't given her a bottle lately (mainly because I haven't found the box with them) we are a little worried she is going to not like it; thankfully she uses a sippy. I am not sure how many ounces she drinks, but I feed her around 6 times a day.
 

*Sleeping... Madison has been waking up 1-2 times per night. Last week she had a bit of a runny nose and a new tooth was breaking through so she woke up more often.  Hopefully we will be able to get back on track in the next couple of weeks. I will probably begin to night wean next month, which will help her to sleep through the night too! She takes 2 naps, each around 1.5 hours. Maddie loves to sleep on her tummy, and a few times we have caught her on the monitor sleeping with her head down and bottom up... adorable.
 

*Appearance... Sweet love had the cutest little grin, and one tooth for a month. I waited patiently, and this month her second bottom tooth appeared. She has been a little trooper, and not really drooling very much at all. Such a lady. I have not been bit yet, but know that day will be coming. Her hair is a light brown and really thickening up. Her eyes are hazel, but look more like a soft amber brown. Lindsay and I sing "Brown Eyed Girl" to her sometimes. She is our petite princess, and just barely fits into her 9 month clothes.

 

*Personality... Maddie is such a joy. I swear, I could just kiss those little cheeks forever. She is ridiculously ticklish, and examines people and objects very thoughtfully. You can see the wheels turning in her little brain. One of Jarrett's favorite thing to do with her is hold her up to a mirror. She gets so excited to see the other baby, waves her arms, squeals and gives the mirror a kiss! She loves to watch her Sister, and is pretty tough when she gives her some "love". Madison doesn't like to be left alone; when she is on the floor, she wants Sister to play with her. When Mama's in the kitchen, my little buddy likes to sit on the counter next to me and chew on a spoon and watch what I am making.

*Noisy Gal...She has been saying "Ma Ma Ma", "Da Da Da" and making tooting noises. Funny story: I had both girls in the shopping cart at the grocery store and Maddie began making her tooting sound, someone down the aisle giggled. Not to be outdone by her baby sister, Lindsay began making a very realistic tooting sound for attention too. We sounded like a fart factory walking down the aisles... Poor shoppers.
Her two favorite things in the whole world are 1. Eating and 2. Sitting on my hip watching the world.

 

*Physical... She is going to be crawling any day now, and I am not prepared. I think Lindsay will be the person it effects the most, because she will be after whatever toy she is playing with. I think I am subconsciously willing her not to be mobile... stay my baby forever! No more growing, ok? She enjoys being read to, and can turn the pages in the board books. She has been trying to pull up, and wants to stand on your lap. She has go-go gadget arms and can reach crazy distances. Madison has been doing great in nursery at bible study! The ladies always tell me she was a perfect little angel :)

 

Love you Baby Girl!!

Little Ladies 1st Football Game

Decked out in our orange and black!!

 One of the things we were so excited about Princeton was that they had a football team! It was a very sad fact that none of the colleges Jarrett worked for had football teams, and our alma matter didn't have one either. The Fishers were football fans without a team. The closest we got was when we lived in LA, and we adopted USC football, mainly because of Jarrett's Uncle Ted (alumni) and the close proximity that we were to games. 

 The girls have never been to a game, and we couldn't wait to share the experience. It was homecoming weekend at Princeton, and they played Harvard.  Princeton has been doing well in the league, and there were high expectations for them. Problem was, it wasn't what we expect at all what an Ivy League game would be like. The stands were empty, Princeton's band was no where to be seen, and the cheerleaders were not very spirited. Where was the Tiger mascot for goodness sakes?! I was shocked. I was looking forward to tailgating, crazy school spirit and fierce rivalry. There were a few Harvard fans, but they were quite civilized.

 Our little ladies didn't seem to mind the lack-luster support of the game as much as we did. They made it into the second quarter before Lindsay was almost asleep on my shoulder. She had so much fun waving pom-pom and watching the cheerleaders. I was a proud Mama when she yelled, "Go TIGERS!"

Lack luster fan support, but fabulous fall foliage to watch between calls.



Princeton vs Harvard

Jarrett let me know that the students are so focused on academics, they don't have a lot of time to watch team sports. To that I say BOO!  College is about so much more than studying. There's got to be some way to get students to the games.  Maybe pass out free study guides? Just kidding ;) Anyways, Princeton was lagging in every quarter, but then caught up in the 4th and came through for a final finish of Princeton 39, Harvard 34 in the last 13 seconds. Way to go Tigers!

Tiny Tiger Fan

Mangia! NJ Italian Festival

A few weekends ago we went to the Mercer County Italian Festival, and oh my, it was a fun evening. New Jersey has the second largest Italian population in the US (next to NY surprise surprise), and we enjoyed the perfect fall weather, carnival rides and of course the FOOD! To answer a few questions that would potentially come up:

 

1. Did we see any wise guys? Sorry to disappoint, but no. Did see some cute old Italian men wearing loafers sans socks and suspenders sitting at a table drinking espresso.

 

2. Did you see anyone from the Jersey Shore? Nope (not that we would know it if we did). There were folks that could be on the show as extras... lots of big hair, muscles and orange spray tans.    

Rode a bumble bee with Mama... Finally figured out how to make it go down with the handle bar at the very end. We got a nice view of the park!

Pilot Lindsay and Co-Pilot Daddy

Cherry Italian Ice. She did share ONE bite with Mama. But only one.

3. What foods did you eat? We had Cannelloni, Italian Ice, Vodka Rigatoni, and Sausage and Pepper sandwich. Everyone was carrying around Tomato Pies, which we had never heard of, but is Sicilian. I guess it is focchia bread topped with tomato sauce and Romano cheese. I am going to try it next year!

4. Do we have Italian ancestry? I do not, but felt right at home with my brunette hair. Jarrett's Papa (Grandpa) was half Italian and half Spanish, so he can claim a little!

Cannelloni anyone? J and I shared one from Nino's Bakery.

A mini replica of the Trevi Fountain in Rome... Looking forward to seeing the real one someday!

There was a huge Catholic display of the Virgin Mary (holding baby Jesus) and saints. Just in case you wanted to stop in and say a few "Hail Mary's"...

5. Was there entertainment? There was a band and lots of classic Italian songs from Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney and of course, Dean Martin. A tent for Bocce was set up too!

Sweet little peanut!

We didn't buy anything but food, but it was fun to see all the "bling'd" out stuff. Purses, shirts, baby stuff- just about anything that you could put rhinestones on, they were selling it. My favorite was a shirt that said, "It's not sauce, it's GRAVY!". We had so much fun, I think we will make it an annual event!

Valley Forge

 

Valley Forge Monument Site

A couple weekends ago we drove into Pennsylvania and checked out Valley Forge. It was beautiful, and the green rolling hills and trees with just a touch of fall were lovely to see as we drove around the huge national park. There were miles of trails through meadows and forest, and lots of folks walking/running them. I would love to go back and run with my ipod and take in the beauty of God's handiwork! Here are a few pictures of our afternoon...

Cabins where Revolutionary War soldiers spent the winter of 1777-78.

Blessed to live in such a great country.

Lulu had fun wandering around and picking wildflowers.

"Mommy, I do a flower dance!"

George Washington's house where he conducted war business... aka the first Pentagon.

Pure joy.

Washington's office... So nerdy, but I love to see restored houses with period furnishings.

 


We have been spending our weekends exploring the area, and it has been so much fun. We didn't drive through it, but I saw a covered bridge... adorable! So far, it has been a blast living on the East Coast!

Princess Maddie

 

 

Madison wanted to give Lindsay's princess mobile a spin... she had fun rocking to the music! She is such big stuff! Enjoy!

Seven Months

Our little sweetie is turning 8 months next week, but here is a re-cap of what Miss Madison has been up to in her 7th month...

Madison Grace, 7 months

*Eating... She has been eating three meals a day, usually oatmeal with a fruit, a veggie and fruit for lunch, and mostly veggies for dinner. Her faves are sweet potatoes, green beans, peas and apples so far. Little Miss can feed herself puffs, and loves her mum-mum crackers. We introduced the sippy and she hasn't quite figured out how to use it, but enjoys drinking water when we help her out.

*Sleeping...Mommy and Daddy had to get tough on sleep training this month, and she has been doing fantastic!! She wakes only 1 or 2 times per night, usually around 11pm and/or 4am, and eats (both sides) and goes back to sleep and will wake up between 6-7am. This is especially wonderful because she is teething too. For both my girls, sleeping through the night (7pm-6am) didn't happen magically... it took lots of sleep training and consistency. I know Maddie can go all night, but at this point, I can't (too full!). Waking up one time a night is pretty nice...I think I will keep it!!

Taking a ride in Sissy's car. She thought she was big stuff!

*Physical Development...Growing girl! She has just begun to wear 9 month clothes. Most of her six month clothes still fit, but they are tight or high-waters. I am hoping the weather doesn't change too much in the next four weeks so I can find her 9 month hand-me-downs from Lindsay. She has begun to move from her tummy to her knees, and has almost figured out how to from sitting position to her tummy. Maddie has begun waving (about 1/2 the time) and loves to make noise.

*Personality...Our girl loves water, and has fun splashing. Ever since she was a tiny baby, she would quiet with the sound of water. Maybe we have a future swimmer? She is quite the sassafrass, and will arch her back and throw herself down and fuss when she is ready for a change of scenery.

Is there anything cuter than naked baby tush?! Really?

*Appearance... Madison has cut her first tooth!! It's her bottom right tooth, and she has been making us laugh with all the funny faces she has been making, rubbing her tounge against it! Her little hair is super straight, and downy-soft. It sticks up right now, but as it gets longer, it will lay down nicely like Lulu's did. Besides the color, she has Daddy's hair!

Mama's Girl!

Love you baby girl!! Here's a splashing video... Enjoy!